What Ultima Online Gave us 21 Years Ago

The template for all online games grew out of the 1990s. Many people recall Everquest as the game which changed everything and it did, trust me. However, before you had EQ, you had UO. Ultima Online created the core ideas and concepts that have driven the MMO genre for 21 straight years. Ultima gave us an early look at what PvP on a large scale might be like, it allowed players to explore a world together for the first time. Ultima Online was a revolution, and it changed everything. Logging into the screen for the first time and creating a character was not easy back then. There were no preset templates. You had to hook in by phone modem which was, well, a risky attempt at best. Once you got started there was always the fear of crashing. As you entered the world you met NPCs and players. Sometimes unsure which was which. You found your niche whether it was crafting or combat. You learned spells and maybe even were lucky enough to ride a horse. PvP was something that had barely been thought of aside from fighting games. Golden Eye had launched right around the same time. It was the dawn of PvP. Ultima created two types of games in its world. The good people of Britannia where blue named, while the player killers were red. Once you saw each other in the open world, it was time to fight. Many times, criminal factions formed outside the normal game… [Read full story]